Vegan Society member experts delivered a tasty message full of juicy tidbits that we all wished we'd known when we started being vegan.

Alice Leonard of Angel Food opened ceremonies with hints on socialising in a non-vegan world and the best strategies for vegan shopping - including a reassurance that label reading eventually becomes second nature!

Bjorn Nilsen shared his thorough knowledge of vegan nutrition from his studies at Wellpark). Along with other great advice, a longterm vegetarian going vegan received his definitive vitamin B12 answer: take a supplement.

Together with Amanda Sorrenson of SAFE New Zealand, we filled a large whiteboard with a world of vegan meal ideas: Traditional (English), Italian, Indian, Middle Eastern, Asian (general), Thai, Japanese, South American/Mexican, and even French - without feeling like we'd remembered everything.

Then Amanda demystified the sometimes startling range of tofu available. We got to sample dessert tofu as soft as custard all the way to chewy tempeh.

The grand finale was a live cooking demo. We ate rich chocolate frosted chocolate cupcakes for "dessert first" while we watched Amanda stir-fry vegetables teamed with gingery noodles. She even wrapped up by showing how quick and easy it is to use Thai rice paper wrappers to make appealing vegetable nibbles.

The food and company was so good that many attendees were reluctant to leave even as chairs and tables were packed up around them.

Congratulations, Vegan Society New Zealand - we look forward to more of these all around the country!